


Those Long Awaited Friday Evenings

by caffeinatedmoo



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Barista Magnus Bane, Fluff, Grumpy Alec Lightwood, Lawyer Alec Lightwood, M/M, but only for a second, light angst?, seriously, the only thing that can beat the amount of fluff is the amount of coffee Alec consumes, theSE TAGS SUCK, too much of it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-19
Updated: 2021-01-19
Packaged: 2021-03-17 20:53:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28855389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/caffeinatedmoo/pseuds/caffeinatedmoo
Summary: The first time it happened, Alec was kind of in a rush so he didn’t bother reading the note, but rather sipped at his coffee and ran to his workplace. At the firm, he got to his meeting and sat down to discuss their agenda at hand. Halfway through his explanation of a new contract drawn up for a publicly traded corporation to a group of 25 lawyers, Susan pointed at his cup and said, “Mr. Lightwood, I believe you have an admirer.”Alec didn’t know whether to cower away in embarrassment because of the whole situation or be mad at Susan because she had been staring at his coffee cup for the past 30 minutes instead of listening to Alec.When he had finally looked at the dreadful coffee cup, he saw it. There, for the entirety of the world to see, in Magnus Bane’s handwriting, a small note that said, ‘I can feel something brewing between us’.He may have cried a little, but that was for no one to know.---A coffee shop AU composed of a persistent Magnus Bane and an equally grumpy Alec Lightwood.
Relationships: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Comments: 14
Kudos: 114





	Those Long Awaited Friday Evenings

**Author's Note:**

> That basic-ass coffee shop AU that I wrote because I was tired of fooling around. Here you go!!
> 
> Fair warning: Rating is for language, nothing explicit.

The whirring of the espresso machine and the constant smell of coffee lingered in the air. There was soft jazz music playing from the speakers overhead and the coffee shop was fairly vacant today. It was a rainy Friday evening and due to the gloomy weather, the gold lights hanging from the ceiling had been turned on, casting a light glow over the shop. It was a charming spot.

Magnus always loved working at Java Jace. Aside from its obnoxiously blonde owner, the shop was, well, _perfect_. Jace tended to overpay his workers because the poor boy couldn’t do the math properly and turns out, Magnus’ co-worker Simon had figured out a way to trick Jace into believing that they were owed 15 dollars per hour instead of 10. When asked about it, he dubiously smirked and reminded Magnus that he is a seasoned barista at Java Jace. It didn’t make any sense but Magnus decided to leave it at that. Magnus also always had shifts where it wasn’t rush-hour. He had managed to grasp the coveted evening shift when the only people present in the cafe were overworked students who only drank shots of espresso, or sole proprietors of small firms asking for the occasional latte or two.

When there weren’t a lot of people around, he would usually resort to his readings and textbooks splattered over the counter in the back. 

Magnus had initially gotten this job because New York taxes were high as fuck and he wasn’t exactly loaded. Jace was hiring at the time because his co-worker Maia had fractured her arm in a minor car accident. Magnus was just supposed to fill in for her until she recovered, but turns out, with the neighborhood in a developing area, they were getting more and more customers every day and the help was needed. So he stayed.

The job was good. Magnus _might_ even go to an extent and call it great. Of course, the only _great_ thing about working for Jace was his brother. One Alexander Lightwood. A man whose face was somehow always sporting his signature scowl flavored with a slight grimace. 

After much prying and _maybe_ a little bribery (not that he would admit it), Jace had finally caved and told Magnus almost everything he needed to know about Alec. And Magnus liked what he saw (or rather, heard. Semantics. Whatever.)

He was also quick to observe the timings at which Alec would walk in. Usually, he came around the time Magnus’ shift was halfway through. Which was perfect, because he would use his break to butter Alec up at every chance he got. If you were to ask him to describe the moment when he first saw Alec, he’d be able to recall it with such an acute sense of detail that it _may_ sound borderline psychopathic. Magnus still remembers the tunes of Duke Ellington playing softly, when Alec had walked in on an especially busy day. The man was wearing a top-notch, perfectly fit suit and holding on to his briefcase for dear life as a bunch of college girls rushed past him to order their obscenely intricate coffees. 

(Magnus had to remind them that this wasn’t Starbucks and the size venti didn’t exist here).

He remembers how Alec Lightwood had strayed up to the counter, completely ignored Magnus’ flirty smile and compliments, and gotten right to the coffee order. Well, Magnus knew it was his job and all, but _come on_ , would it kill Alec to give him a little attention?

When talking about it afterward, Jace had simply laughed at Magnus’ face and said, “my brother isn’t one for any romantic pursuits. Trust me.” 

After that, Magnus made it his life’s goal to get Alec Lightwood to like him back. It was probably (definitely) the most difficult chase yet, but Magnus Bane would not give up. He wasn’t going to lose to this stone-faced asshole if his life depended on it. 

But turns out, every time he tried to make a move, it seemed to push Alec away. He didn’t even know what he was doing wrong, so he resorted to just being a persistent little fucker. Although that may have admittedly gotten Alec exasperated, it wasn’t like he could help it. It was in his DNA or something.

So, here they were, on a Friday evening. People were heading home, and no one wanted coffee at this time. But then, at exactly 6, the door opened and Alec walked in. He was wearing a long trench coat, but his raven hair was a little wet from the heavy drizzle outside. He looked gorgeous. Magnus was leaning over the counter with his head in his arms but when Alec walked in, he instinctively perked up and positioned himself inclining towards the order station in an attempt to look nonchalant. Alec spotted him from the entrance and slowly walked over with no indication of any emotion on his face.

“Alexander! What a lovely surprise.”

“Is that the standard dialogue or something?”

“Whatever do you mean, darling?”

They had been playing this little game long enough for Alec to now completely ignore the terms of endearment.

“You _always_ say that Magnus. I’ve been showing up here at the same time for like 6 months now”, he said. A look of surprise crossed his face. “Or-or however long it is that you’ve been working here”, he hastily added.

“Oh, have you been keeping track”, Magnus drawled, smirking.

“Of course not! I’m just saying--”

“Oh relax, I was just kidding”, he said laughing. “The usual for you?”

“Yeah.”

Magnus began working on Alec’s painfully logical black coffee with no sugar. He usually took a medium size and needed it scorching hot, because apparently, the guy didn’t have taste buds. Alec was waiting near the counter as usual. After finishing it up, Magnus got out his little marker and wrote a message on the cup.

This was another thing for them. After realizing that sweet-talking Alec wouldn’t work, Magnus started leaving little notes for Alec on the cup. And not normal notes like ‘have a good day’ or ‘thanks for stopping by’. Nope. Magnus would write horribly common pick-up lines. Half the time, they made him sound desperate and the other half, delusional.

The first time it happened, Alec was kind of in a rush so he didn’t bother reading the note, but rather sipped at his coffee and ran to his workplace. At the firm, he got to his meeting and sat down to discuss their agenda at hand. Halfway through his explanation of a new contract drawn up for a publicly traded corporation to a group of 25 lawyers, Susan pointed at his cup and said, “Mr. Lightwood, I believe you have an admirer.” Alec didn’t know whether to cower away in embarrassment because of the whole situation or be mad at Susan because she had been staring at his coffee cup for the past _30 minutes_ instead of listening to Alec.

When he had finally looked at the dreadful coffee cup, he saw it. There, for the entirety of the world to see, in Magnus Bane’s handwriting, a small note that said, _‘I can feel something brewing between us’._

He may have cried a little, but that was for no one to know. 

The next day, he tried to interrogate Magnus about it, but the other man wouldn’t budge. He simply shrugged and told Alec to “get used to it darling, because it would simply be a crime to not relish your beautiful face.”

So Alec got used to it. That didn’t stop him from hiding his cup from Susan though.

Alec picked up his coffee and turned it around to read the note.

_‘I didn’t add sweetener because you’re sweet enough’._

“Really, Magnus?”

“What?”

“Couldn’t have come up with something a little more original?”

“It’s the thought that counts! Besides, you should be grateful, I don’t go around wasting my precious Sharpie ink for just anyone.”

“I know you doodle on the paper napkins with them”, Alec said flatly.

“Damn it”, Magnus muttered under his breath.

Alec laughed a little and took a small sip of his coffee, grimacing at the taste.

“Why do you drink that abhorring coffee anyway?”

“You made it. Should you really be the one insulting it?”

“Please, I know it isn’t my coffee-making skills that make it so repulsive. It’s those scornful beans”, Magnus said, as the beans had personally offended him.

Magnus knew that the beans Jace bought were crimes against humanity. He thought ‘fuck it’ one day and decided to try some of the coffee himself. It wasn’t exactly allowed back then, but if you’re not in it for stealing the coffee for yourself, then why even work at a coffee shop anyway?

The moment he had sipped that latte, he knew it was fucking horrible. Magnus had a certain soft stop for coffee in his heart due to his 3 AM caffeine-induced writing sessions, and this was just the worst thing that could ever happen to him. When questioning Jace about it afterward, apparently it was because he was stuck with one of those lifetime validity contracts with his coffee provider, but Magnus knew he was just too much of a cheap-ass to buy expensive, high-quality beans.

“I come here because I need to be faithful to my brother”, Alec said as if he should be getting an award for it or something.

 _He should be, don’t kid yourself_ , Magnus thought to himself.

“Yeah, but it’s like a slow poison. You’re killing yourself a little every day by drinking _that_ concoction.”

“Jace made me swear not to visit the Starbucks down the street. He said if he ever saw me there, he’d _actually_ poison me.”

Magnus grinned. “And I bet he’d pull it off too.”

“Yeah, Jace can get a little dreadful sometimes”, Alec said, shaking his fondly. 

He raised the cup higher and tipped it a little towards Magnus in lieu of goodbye. He turned around and walked towards the door.

“Goodbye, Magnus.”

“Goodbye Alexander”, Magnus said earnestly.

\---

“Dude! I don’t see the problem!”

“The problem, _Blondie_ , is that I already work here three hours a day, and now you march in here, and demand that I work for five more? Are you kidding me right now?”

“Magnus, _please_! I would ask Simon, but he’s got his stupid band playing at that seedy bar I told you about.”

“Goddamn it, what about Maia?”

“She’s gotta go to physiotherapy. You know I can’t sweet-talk her out of that.”

_Fuck. There was no way to slide out of this one._

“So you want me to extend my 7 PM shift to midnight?”

“Yes, _please_ ”

“And what do I get for being such a selfless soul?”

“40 dollars extra plus two free employee drinks instead of one?”

Magnus pondered over the request. In truth, it's not like he had plans or something. His only _plans_ for the evening were to stumble home with a box of greasy pizza and cry over trashy reality TV while the Chairman looked at him in disdain. He supposed 40 more bucks was better than that. He knew he wasn’t going to use his stupid free drink even if it killed him. There were worse ways to go.

“Fine,” he mumbled out and Jace tackled him in what was supposed to be a friendly hug but felt more like assault.

“Ugh, get off me!”

“Sorry, sorry. I’m just so thankful”, Jace said, smiling and flaunting his perfect teeth.

“I don’t get why you can’t just close down. I mean, it's not like many people would show up at midnight for coffee.”

“You’d be surprised", he heard Jace mumble.

“Whatever, I’m going home. See you tomorrow.”

As Magnus began walking towards the door, he realized that he had forgotten about something and half turned around. “Oh, and one more thing.”

“Yes?”

“Don’t ever fucking call me _dude_.”

\---

It was just after 9.30 PM that the last customer left the shop. Sometimes, they had a few strays that would stop by around midnight, but that was rare. People weren’t looking for coffee at that hour. It was usually something stronger. Magnus had his earphones on and was listening to some random R&B song while cleaning out the second espresso machine. Simon had left the granules in. _Again_. And Jace was none the wiser. So he was stuck with the job. In the midst of intently listening to the soothing voice of the singer, he felt a large hand on his shoulder and someone faintly yelling his name and jerked back, yelling.

“Ah, what the fuck!”

He quickly recovered to see Alec standing on the other side with an annoyed look plastered on his perfect face. “What was that all about? I’ve been yelling your name for the past 10 minutes."

“Jeez, relax. I didn’t hear you”, he said, pointing to the earphones in annoyance.

“Yeah, funnily enough, I figured that out for myself.”

They fell into an awkward silence with Magnus playing with his earphone cords in his hands and Alec looking around as if he wanted to disappear into thin air or something.

“So”, Magnus drawled, “whatcha doin here?”

“What do you think? I’m here for coffee.”

Magnus flinched visibly at the quick retort and Alec must have noticed it because he quickly simmered down and apologized.

“I-sorry, I didn’t mean to make it sound so rude.”

“It’s fine”, Magnus mumbled.

“I really am here for the coffee though", Alec said, shrugging.

“And I can see that _you’re_ in a bad mood.”

“Just had a stressful day is all. Wait.. why are _you_ working the night shift? I thought Jace handled that?”

“He does, but apparently he has ‘other commitments’, whatever the fuck that means…”, Magnus said, putting ‘other commitments’ in hand quotations.

Alec looked like he was contemplating what Magnus said for a moment before shrugging.

“So, I’ll get the usual for you?”

“Yes, please.”

“Okay, you can sit down, this machine’s gonna a little longer to get cleaned and I’ll just bring your cup to you.”

“You sure?

“Yeah, it’s no problem.”

“Okay”, Alec said as he turned around and found a small booth by the window to sit down. It was kind of rainy again so the window panels had small dew drops on them and the city outside was winding down. Magnus spent a few more minutes clearing out the granules while Alec was sitting and reading a small book. It seemed oddly domestic. Alec usually had his moments where he lingered by to chat with Jace, but Magnus had never seen him actually _sit_ in the shop, looking laid back. He was wearing his dark jeans and a loose hoodie on top, looking impossibly young. 

_He also looks tired_ , Magnus noticed.

Finally, he made the coffee and pulled out the Sharpie to write the message.

 _‘Been thinking about you a latte’,_ it said. Once satisfied, Magnus put it on a tray with a small piece of black forest gâteau that Maia was surprisingly good at making and brought it over to Alec. He glanced up from his little book and sat upright.

As soon as Magnus put the tray down, he grabbed the coffee cup eagerly to see the message plastered on today. Magnus could have been dreaming, but he swore he faintly saw the ends of Alec’s lips curl upwards in a small smile. That was rewarding enough for the other man.

It was then that he seemed to notice the little pastry sitting on the tray.

“I didn’t order this?”

“Oh, I know. Complimentary. Perks of being the owner’s brother.”

“So these messages didn’t work and now you’re bribing me with chocolate instead?”

“Not bribing! Enticing. There’s a difference.”

Alec rolled his eyes fondly and pointed at the seat in front of him. Magnus raised his eyebrows in question.

“Might as well”, Alec said. “There’s no one around right now, and I’m pretty sure there are no more espresso machines to clean.”

 _Well shit_ , Magnus thought. _I’m making more progress with one black forest cake than I have with hundreds of coffees. Who’d have thought?_

Magnus slowly sat down on the opposite end. “So you wanna tell me what’s bothering you so much?”

“It’s nothing. Just work stress and life being irrevocably unfair and my parent’s being criticizing assholes who think I’m the epitome of all things bad just because I’m gay.” Alec said his little piece with a flat expression, but something indicated that he was fuming.

_Oh._

“Um, I uh-”

“It’s fine, I didn’t mean to unload on you like that.”

“Hey, it’s okay. You can talk to me. I know I flirt and joke around a lot, but I can tell this is serious to you. I would never joke about that. And granted, I don’t know you that well, but I care about you, Alec. And I’m here to listen. If you wanna talk. If not, it's totally fine, I don’t wanna make you uncomfortable or anything-”

“You don’t”, Alec abruptly cut him off.

“Wha-what?”

“You don’t make me uncomfortable”, Alec said slowly.

Alec’s emotions were a fickle thing, Magnus realized. One moment he seemed to completely ignore Magnus and look at him like he was the piece of gum stuck to Alec’s whole cut Oxfords. The next, he looked at Magnus with an incredibly delicate look. Like the one, he was giving Magnus right now. It was frustrating, but Magnus always loved challenges. Maybe that’s why he kept going back to Alec. 

Alec sighed and ran his hands through his hair. “I was supposed to have dinner with them tonight. Izzy always cancels at the last minute and we thought Jace was working tonight, which apparently, he wasn’t. Anyway, they started pestering me about my job and my lack of a love life. It was so stupid considering they only ever meddle in my life when they wanna criticize me. It feels ridiculous because isn’t family is supposed to unconditionally support you?”

“Oh, Alec.”

Alec just looked down sadly at his coffee, dejected.

“Hey. Look at me.”

Alec slowly looked up.

“Did you know I was adopted?”

Alec’s eyes widened. “Magnus, I--”

“Wait. I’m not done.” Alec signaled for him to speak.

“I lost my mom and dad at a young age and was put in the foster care system. One of the foster parent’s Ragnor was taking care of me when I started having panic attacks and nightmares about the accident that killed my parents. When his period ended, he ended up making the decision to keep me because I had grown attached to him. Make no mistake, he’s a grumpy old brit, but a real softie at heart. Anyway, I grew up with him. And I don’t think anyone knows me as he does. He’s seen all of me. The good, the bad, and the ugly.”

Alec was looking more and more unhinged as Magnus continued his speech, so he decided to make the message a little blunter without seeming rude.

“What I’m trying to say, is that just because they’re your family, doesn’t mean that they’re the ones that know you the best. Besides, a family isn’t defined by blood. You have a lot of people who surround you that you may not be related to but care about. Jace is probably the best example of that.”

At that, Alec smiled a little, and his shoulders dropped down. Magnus didn’t realize how tense he was until Alec did that. He gave Alec a sweet smile back.

“You’re right. I guess it'll take time, but I’ll keep in mind what you said. Thank you. And also, I’m sorry about your parents. No kid should have to go through with something like that. You’re a very strong person.”

“Thank you, Alexander.”

They were quiet for a moment before Alec spoke up again.

“So tell me about this Ragnor.”

Magnus laughed. “You really wanna know about him?”

“Yeah, sure. I mean unless you don’t want to or something.”

“No, no. I’d be perfectly happy regaling the tales of my childhood with you.”

So that’s what they did. For the rest of the night, they spent time sharing a small piece of black forest pastry while Magnus made 2 more cups of coffee, one for Alec and one for himself. The smile Alec gave him was distracting enough to make Magnus forget all about the chalky coffee too. No one came into the shop for the rest of the night and Magnus and Alec shared childhood stories without a care in the world. 

Later, at around 2 in the morning, Magnus closed up shop and walked home with Alec. They said their goodbyes, giggling like high-school teens. Neither of them slept that night, too caught up in the warm feeling blooming in their chests.

\---

“Hey Magnus”, a flirty voice said.

Magnus turned around to see Nate looking at him. Well, actually, looking at his ass.

“Eyes are up here, pretty boy.”

Nate’s vision snapped up and he gave Magnus an amorous smile.

Nate Cohen was a boy in Magnus’ human osteology and paleopathology class. The boy had been endlessly chasing Magnus for almost a year now. It was like another version of him and Alec, except a lot sadder, because, despite his _charming_ efforts, Magnus didn’t really see anything for him and Nate in the future except maybe the casual hookup. So he would keep up the act and flirt back occasionally. Nate wasn’t exactly the kind of guy who’d have the word commitment in his dictionary, so they stuck to the formalities, never anything more or less.

That was until he knew that Nate would start coming by the coffee shop.

“What are you doing here?”

“Getting coffee, of course”, Nate said innocently.

 _Getting coffee, my ass_ , Magnus thought bitterly.

But alas, customer reviews were a thing, and if Magnus didn’t want to get fired, he’d just have to be nice to this wannabe Jonas brother. He gave Nate a small smile and asked for his order.

“Oh, I’ll have whatever’s your favorite”, he said sweetly.

“And what if it’s the obnoxiously sweet drink I can think of”, Magnus said, batting his eyes innocently.

“Then so be it.”

Just to shove it to him, Magnus made a breve with 5 pumps of caramel and 5 more of vanilla. They were laughing about something when Magnus looked past Nate and saw Alec looking at him dead in the eyes with disappointment. He seemed a little sad if not hurt by the way his shoulders were tense. Magnus made a confused face at him but Nate was clearly in the middle of his conversation.

“Did I lose you already?”

Magnus snapped his vision back at Nate and smiled again. “Not at all, darling. I have to get back to work now, so I’ll see you on Tuesday.” From his peripheral vision, he saw Alec flinch a little at that.

“I’m looking forward to it”, he said, winking. And with that, he sauntered smoothly past Alec, and out of the shop.

With Nate gone, Alec stepped forward.

“The usual?”

“Yes”, came back the curt reply.

While he got to making Alec’s drink, he wondered why Alec was looking at him like he had just threatened to kill his puppy. 

“Are you okay?”

“Fine.”

“You don’t seem fine.”

“Okay.”

“Would you stop giving me one-word answers?”

“No.”

“Okay, you know what”, Magnus said, tossing the cup aside as he turned to Alec, “I thought that after last night’s talk, things would be different between us. But apparently, you just can't seem to get your head of your ass and be nice to me for once.”

“Yeah well, _I_ thought things were different too, but apparently _you_ can’t stop flirting with every person that walks past you for once.”

_That stung._

Magnus didn’t say anything after that. He simply got back to making the coffee and handed the cup to Alec, disappearing into the employee area without another word.

And Alec was left standing behind, feeling an array of emotions.

\---

Jace had to take account of the inventory tonight, so after closing the shop, he turned around to the storage room in the back and opened the door to hear someone mumbling in the back. 

Of course, like any normal person, his first thought was, ‘ _Fuck the shop’s being robbed’._

He grabbed the nearest thing he could find which happened to be an ice machine tray and began walking towards the back of the room, vigilant enough to respond quickly if someone was to pull upon him. He heard rustling and faint whispers getting louder from around a large shelf.

“...fucking stupid…. of _course_ , he had to say that…… suck my ass….”

What Jace couldn’t figure out was, ‘why the hell is a thief talking about sucking ass’. Then again, weirder things had happened to him, so let it go. He clutched the tray tightly in his hand and turned around the shelf corner swiftly, yelling all the while.

“Ahhhh!”

“Fuck! What the fuck, Magnus?”

“ _Put_ the tray down blondie, what are you gonna do, freeze me?”

“Jesus, I had to defend myself with something!”

“Thought you were smarter than this”, he heard Magnus mumble.

“I heard that”, he pointed out.

They both slumped against the shelves on opposite ends, facing each other. Above, the faint white light loomed over them. There were small spider webs with bugs trapped in them on the ceiling. Jace realized that the storage room was _scary_. He was never coming in here alone again.

“What are you _doing_ here”, Magnus asked, exasperated.

“I could ask you the same.”

“I needed some space to myself. Didn’t realize how much time had passed by until you came in, screaming like a moron.”

Jace scowled but ignored the insult. “Why were you talking about sucking ass?”

“Really? Did you hear me? And that’s what you picked up?”

“Well, it’s not every day that I get to fascinate myself with the tales of the great Magnus Bane’s triumphs in bed”, Jace said, grinning like a maniac.

“Jesus, could you _be_ any more of a creep? And this wasn’t about _sex_.”

“Then?”

Magnus huffed out a loud breath, contemplating whether or not to tell Jace. But blondie kept giving him a rendition of the infamous puppy eyes, so he gave in.

“Ugh, it’s about your brother. There I said it.”

“Alec?”

“No, Isabelle. Yes of course it’s Alec, you idiot! Who else would I be talking about?”

“Okay, sorry, go ahead.” Jace raised up his arms defensively and Magnus decided to go easy on him.

“I just- just had this long conversation with him the night that I was closing down. And I thought that I had finally gotten past the cold shoulder, and we could be friends… maybe even more. But then he came in today, acting like a total jerk, and practically called me a lothario.”

“.... Right….”

“What?”

“It’s just that Alec doesn’t usually say things like that to people unless he’s made to be believed that you were flirting with other people. It would have probably made him a little jealous?”

“Oh, please. I’m sure _Alec Lightwood_ doesn’t get jealous. Besides, I wasn’t flirting with Nate, just talking.” Jace gave him another pointed look.

“Okay! Fine, maybe I flirted a little. But I didn’t think it mattered. I mean, it’s not like he hardly gives me any attention? It’s not like I can abstain from flirting. It’s vital.”

“Okay, I’m gonna pretend like you didn’t just call flirting vital. Look, Alec has a few trust issues. But let me tell you when I say he likes you back, I mean it. Trust me. You just have to show him that you care.”

“Yeah. You’re right. How though?”

“Well, I can _discreetly_ give you his address, and maybe you could surprise him with a nice cup of Joe?”

At that, Magnus openly laughing, and Jace joined in too. After a while, they both were left smiling and Magnus stood upright. “Text it to me”, he said.

“You got it.”

Magnus reached the door when he turned around and asked, “wait, how did you know that he likes me too?”

Jace looked visibly embarrassed at that. He put his head down in guilt and slowly said, “well, Alec’s kinda been talking about you for… ever?”

“WHAT?”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! He promised to make me not tell, so I couldn’t. But I was rooting for you guys though.”

Turns out Jace knew that Alec came in late at night sometimes, and that’s why Magnus was _conveniently_ put on shift last night. The little fucker was smart.

“Oh my god, once I’m done talking to Alec, I’m gonna fucking kill you.”

\---

Alec was tired. He had finished a grueling day at the court and was now looking for his phone which had been lost somewhere in his ever-growing pile of blankets. He was heading to the bedroom to check if the device was in there when the doorbell rang. He turned around quickly, not expecting any visitors at this point.

When he opened the door, he was greeted by the face of Magnus Bane standing on the other side, clutching a small coffee cup and a careful expression on his face, like he was expecting to be kicked out of the building.

“Magnus. What are you doing here?”

“Just brought some coffee. And a much-needed apology”, he said, hesitantly holding out the cup to Alec.

Alec took it from him and instantly felt better with the warm cup in his hands. He suspected the warmth wasn’t just from the drink, but something else entirely. “Come in”, he said.

Magnus slowly walked in and looked around. Alec suddenly felt a little self-conscious.

After a brief moment of hesitation, Magnus said, “you have a lovely home.” Alec wasn’t born yesterday though. He could tell the smile was forced and strained. He wasn’t the best home keeper.

“You don’t have to lie to me Magnus, I know it’s a mess.”

“No, no. Not a mess, just… unkempt”, he finished lamely.

“Yeah, sure”, Alec said smiling as he took a sip from the coffee. Which was good.

“Wait, this isn’t Java Jace?”

Magnus laughed a little at that. “Um, no. Don’t tell you brother, but I sneaked some coffee from that Starbucks you aren’t allowed to go to and poured the coffee in this cup instead. I figured an apology coffee should be satisfactory, at the very least.”

Alec grinned broadly. “Yeah, you’re right. And don’t worry. Your secrets safe with me, if you keep smuggling more quality coffee for me.”

“You got it.”

They were both quiet for a few more moments, seemingly pondering over what to say. Alec knew he had to apologize. He just didn’t know how. Thankfully, he didn’t have to grovel over it much, because Magnus spoke up first.

“I like you, you know? I know I flirt around and all that, but it’s never really been serious for anyone except you. I supposed that’s not an acceptable excuse, but it is what it is. What you heard between Nate and I was just a repartee, we’re not really looking for anything with each other.”

Alec was quiet for a while and just started at Magnus with an unbelievably soft look on his face. He slowly walked towards Magnus. “I like you too. I know I haven’t exactly been obvious about that, but it’s true. I guess I just tried to fend off your attention because I didn’t think anyone like you would wanna be with me. But then we talked that night, and I realized that we could have something real.”

“We can”, Magnus slowly whispered, not daring to ruin the moment.

“When I saw you with that guy today, I guess I just felt replaced. You said you were gonna see him on Tuesday. Is that a date?”

“Oh god no! We just have a class together on that day!”

Alec smiled, amused by Magnus’ theatrics. “So does that mean that _I_ can take you out on Tuesday?”

“Like, on-on a date?”

“Yes, Magnus. On a date", he said, rolling his eyes fondly.

“On a Tuesday?”

Alec huffed out a laugh. “Yes please, I would like to go out with you as soon as possible.”

Magnus couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He already knew what the answer was. He had practically been forcing Alec to go out with him for the past 6 months. This was the moment.

“Yes” was all he had to say for Alec to come forward and close the gap between them.

It was a soft press of their lips at first. Alec was hesitantly kissing Magnus as he slowly wrapped an arm around his waist. Magnus pushed a little into the kiss and that seemed to give Alec all the confidence he needed as the kiss grew more heated. Magnus tangled his fingers in Alec’s hair and pulled a little making him moan softly. Alec’s hands moved to cover Magnus’ back and they stood there for a long time, exchanging long, feverish kisses.

After what seemed like hours, they slowly pulled apart, breathing in soft pants. They tried to stay as close to each other as possible and still hand their hands wrapped around each other. Magnus slowly started giggling and at Alec’s incredulous look, he chuckled a little harder, which turned into a peal of full-blown laughter. Alec was smiling at him despite trying not to.

“Mind telling me what’s so funny?”

“It’s just that-that, Jace tried to set us up and failed spectacularly”, he said, laughing all over again.

“Wait, what?”

“The reason I was working that night instead of him was that he knew you’d stop by and he thought we’d stop our stupid banter and talk properly. It worked but he seemed a little disappointed to find out that he fought.”

“God that dumbass needs to mind his own damn business.”

“Well darling, in his defense, we wouldn’t really be here if not for him.”

Alec laughed a little, nodding in agreement. “Thank you Jace”, he said, kissing Magnus again.

He both kept laughing and exchanging soft kisses when Alec backed Magnus against the kitchen island and pressed his body into Magnus’. They were both hooked in the moment when Alec’s eye caught the coffee cup sitting idly on the island. He broke off the kiss and took the cup in his hand to examine it, seeing if there was a message on it. There was. Of course.

_‘I’m soy into you’._

Alec looked at Magnus to see him smirking knowingly at him. He laughed and surged forward to kiss him again.

“I’m soy into you, too”, he whispered between kisses.

_Thank you Jace indeed._

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are appreciated!


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